Jake Long garnering innovative support for return to Dolphins

Guard Richie Incognito has mounted Twitter campaign for Long to re-sign

March 17, 2013|By Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel

DAVIE — As left tackle Jake Long decides whether to return to the Dolphins a campaign to sway his thought process has been mounted on Twitter by Dolphins guard Richie Incognito.

It goes under the hashtag #bringjakehome, and it has attracted comments from Dolphins center Mike Pouncey and storied Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas, who tweeted, "Hey jake do us all a favor and sign on the dotted line already!!!"

Incognito, among the funniest guys on the team and a good friend of Long's, has become in a pioneer in NFL recruiting.

Here's a couple of his tweets:

•Dear jake, u complete me Richard;)

•Here's a jam to keep us believing! Journey-Dont Stop Believing

Incognito also tweeted a Halloween picture of him and Long, standing side-by-side, with Incognito dressed as Batman and Long dressed as the Superman, with the caption, "Who else will dress up with u on Halloween jake?"

Long's decision could be holding up the Dolphins' remaining free-agency plan, and maybe others' as well. The more time Long takes, the more time it takes the Dolphins to decide whether to pursue, say, Kansas City right tackle Eric Winston to fill their tackle void in the draft. And the longer it takes Long, the longer it takes fellow free agent tackles such as New England's Sebastian Vollmer to have the market set.

It seems Long's only interest is coming from the Dolphins and Rams, which could be an indication his value on the market isn't as originally projected.

General Manager Jeff Ireland, speaking at the NFL Combine in February, hinted Long's negotiation was a bit unusual.

"There's a lot of things that you normally don't have in that particular case, some of the details I don't want to get into, but it's just a complicated negotiation," he said. "I'd love to have him back, he's been a pillar for our football team since the day he stepped on campus."

Reportedly, St. Louis gave Long a clean bill of health after his physical examination. But considering Long, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has ended the last two seasons on the injured reserve list, and considering he's had problems with his biceps, triceps, back, and knee in the past three seasons it's reasonable to believe teams would be hesitant to give Long a contract worth $10 or 11 million a year, which was his reported asking price.

"Injury history, I don't want to say it's an issue, it's something we look at," Ireland said. "Obviously we have more intimate knowledge of his health than anybody else, so it's something we're aware of."

Most likely the Dolphins' preference would be to retain Long, an on-field and lockerroom leader who has everyone's respect.

If Long doesn't return most likely the Dolphins would flip right tackle Jonathan Martin to the left side and draft a right tackle. Oklahoma's Lane Johnson will be available in the first round and other quality tackles will be available through Miami's two second-round picks.

But it's clear what Incognito wants. He posted another message Sunday morning: